Toyota's Prius brand is so strong that it could someday support a lineup of hybrid vehicles under the popular green vehicle's flagship name, a top company executive said Sunday.Jim Lentz, president of Toyota Motor Sales USA, said the company has been successful in marketing the Scion and Lexus vehicles as a brand and could apply those lessons to Prius.
"I think Prius has that much strength as a brand. So the marketing side of me says based on that, someday it would be advantageous for us to have derivatives, different body types under the Prius name," Lentz said in an interview on the sidelines of the North American International Auto Show. "Are there plans for that today? I can't tell you that. But the marketing person says that's a great direction for us to go."
Prius has been the top-seller in the U.S. hybrid market, which currently represents more than 2 percent of domestic vehicle sales. Toyota Motor Corp. dominated the hybrid market with its Toyota and Lexus offerings and sold more than 181,000 Prius hybrids in 2007, an increase of about 68 percent over the previous year.
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